


Just another exploration video

by ShadowIsEm



Category: Video Blogging RPF, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Demons, Eventual Smut, Exploration, Fanfiction, Fluff, Gay, Ghosts, Horror, I need more solby, M/M, PTSD, Sam and Colby - Freeform, There aren’t enough of these, Thriller, Trauma, YouTube, haunted, sobly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-27 19:40:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowIsEm/pseuds/ShadowIsEm
Summary: "I want to notify all of you who watched this video, in no way was this faked, or-or just a joke! I-I wish it was a joke! But after what we saw there, I'm sorry, but I am never EVER making another 3am challenge video nor am I EVER doing any more exploring videos, and lastly, don't ever go to this place! I repeat, never go there, for your own safety... Watch this video with the full knowledge that this is real, thank you".





	1. Late

**Author's Note:**

> So basically I was super shocked to see that there were little to no Solby stories on here and I just think we need more! COME ON PEOPLE.

{ This is the first time I'm doing a Solby story, I have no idea how this is going to go but I've had this idea for ages and I wanted to use it... So, enjoy}

"Colby! Come on! Dude! We're already late!" Sam called up the stairs as he tapped his foot impatiently, fiddling the camera in his hands, chewing his lower lip. "Chill! I'm coming!" Sam heard Colby's feet bound down the steps, hopping two steps at a time.

"Why do you have to take so long?" Sam rolled his eyes as he turned on his heel, walking towards the door and grabbing Colby's car keys from the hook on the wall, opening the door whilst handing Colby his keys.

 

"I was doing my hair", Colby mumbled which Sam responded to with a scoff, rolling his eyes yet again. "Shut up dude, if your hair was as perfect as mine, then you'd understand the struggle", Colby teased, biting his tongue as he grinned to his friend.

"You brought the extra hoody's?" Sam listed as they stepped out, Colby humming and nodding, looking over at his blonde friend. "You brought the bandages?" Sam saw Colby roll his eyes and nod again.

 

"Cool it dude, we have everything".

"Where are you two off to?" Corey whistled from the gate as he trudged in, Devyn trailing behind him. "Gonna go explorin' for the Sam and Colby channel", Sam sang to them.

"Oh boy, how fun! Is it haunted like every other explorin' video?" Corey responded back in a sing-song voice, twirling his keys between his fingers. 

"It's said to be", Colby claimed, opening the driver side to his car. "Well, have fun you two, don't bring back any haunted toys, Colby", Corey eyes the brunette who frowned at him as if offended.

"I would never!" Colby smirked before climbing into his car, ushering Sam to get in as well. "Bye bye boys! Be safe out there!" Corey called, blowing them an overly dramatic kiss before waving them goodbye.

"So tell me a bit about this place again?" Colby requested to Sam who put the GPS on his phone to direct Colby to the location, chuckling lightly.

"Oh Colby, not doing our homework I see?"

"I did! I just need some reminding!" Colby declared as he backed out the gate. "Uh huh, uh huh, whatever you say bro", Sam rolled his eyes and picked up Colby's phone, unlocking it as he already knew the pass-code.

"Well, there wasn't much information on it, it was really hard to find out about this place, like all known about this place was completely erased, but, it's a hospital, supposedly haunted and abandoned, it's pretty much in the middle of nowhere and no one cares to watch over it, so security won't be a problem", Sam mumbled as he typed in the hospitals name and clicked on the first link he saw which only contained two paragraphs worth of information.

"Will there be people living there?" Colby asked, glancing at Sam for a second before returning his attention to the road, exhaling deeply. "Doubt it, like I said, middle of nowhere and when I say middle of nowhere, I mean middle of nowhere, like its a long road through a few trees that takes about half an hour drive then a gate and a big hospital with no building around it", Sam looked at Colby before frowning.

"What an inconvenient place to have a hospital", Colby commented to which Sam responded with a nod of his head in agreement. "That's what I was thinking", Sam mumbled as he looked through a few more websites to scan for information, yet it seemed useless.

"How long has it been abandoned?" Colby asked after about ten minutes worth of silence. "Over forty years apparently?" Sam said, tracing his tongue over his lips to moisten them a bit.

 

"Shit dude, I'm kinda excited but a little scared, this seems too good to be true, I mean, no people at all?" Colby gripped the steering wheel as he drove on.

"Yeah, I mean, how cool and relieving would it be to not have someone come after us?" Sam grinned, switching their phones so the GPS was now on Colby's phone.

"That'd be awesome", Colby gave a faint chuckle.

After an hour, Colby pulled over at a gas station so they could film the intro and get the fuel filled. Sam decided to go inside the small shop and buy some batteries since that always turned out being what they left out during these trips. Sam bought some water as well as some jerky in case they grow peckish. 

Once both boys completed their individual tasks, they set up the camera on the hood of the car and counted to three before speaking. 

"What's up guys, it's Sam and Colby!" Colby practically yelled at the camera and Sam smiled, continuing to speak. "Today we are here with another, insane exploring video at an abandoned and seemingly haunted hospital", Sam explained, smiling gently and clasping his hands together, exchanging a look with Colby who carried on.

"So guys, this place is crazy, like seriously it's in the middle of nowhere, like nothing near it for ages and it was super hard to find out much about it".

"But because it's so far from everything, there is a good chance no one will be there, like it's extremely abandoned and super haunted", Sam explained, staring at the camera in front of them.

They spoke a bit more before Sam sighed and gave Colby a high five, retrieving the camera and climbing into the car with Colby.

The two pulled out of the empty driveway and got onto the road, going for a non stop drive to this abandoned hospital.

 

________________ 

 

Did I do good so far?


	2. Broken Elevator

I understand my usual collection of readers are unfamiliar with these two boys. Yes I know, they're not Jack and Mark, but who gives a fuck? Try watching their videos, you might find a new interest of YouTube since I don't only want to stick to one category. Watch their videos, you'll find they're both funny and attractive and they really love each other which makes you ship them more, a bit different from our community? The fact that Jack and Mark hardly interact these days? Yeah, thought so.

______________

"Holy crap", Sam gushed as they finally approached the large set of gates, his lips parting in awe. They both climbed out of the car, lifting the camera and recording everything they could see. "Dude, how do we get in?" Colby included as he approached the gate and took the lock rusted with orange in his hand before giving it a few rough tugs before turning to Sam who shrugged.

"What if we... We can...", Sam looked around, biting his lip. "Couldn't we jump it? Climb that tree there", Colby gestured to a large overhanging tree going over the fencing, "and jump it?"

"Sure, sure, we could try that", Sam nodded in agreement, looking up to the sunset orange sky which indicated it was nearing evening. He felt a set of shivers run down his spine. "Alright then", Colby opened the trunk of the car and retrieved their backpacks, handing Sam his own one whilst slinging his onto his shoulders.

"Thanks", Sam mumbled as he handed Colby the camera to put his backpack over his shoulders, huffing out and looking up at the tree with a frown. Sam immediately attempted ti climb, with great struggle he was able to stable himself on the overhanging branch with his legs dangling off either side.

"Colby, hand me the camera", Sam reached down and reluctantly grabbed the device, shuffling himself up and carefully creeping along the body of the branch before hopping over the spiked fence and landing on his feet with a slight stumble.

"You alright?" Colby walked to the fence and gripped the bars, seeing Sam draw near. "Yeah, I'm good", Sam rubbed his knee which was slightly stinging, Colby noticing and frowning in concern.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, totally dude, I'm fine", Sam hesitantly placed his hand over Colby's which were still gripping the bars of the gate. Sam traced his thumb over the top of Colby's hand, both boys sharing a look that the camera didn't catch. "We'll have to cut this out in editing", Colby sighed as he slowly retracted his hand from Sam's.

"Yeah.... Now come over here!" Sam brought back his upbeat character and back away a bit from the gate, seeing Colby chuckled and glance up at the branch. "Anyway... See ya Sam!" Colby waved him off and pretended to got to his car as if to leave. "Dude! Colby! Come on you piece of garbage", Sam rolled his eyes with a slight laugh, turning and looking at the ridiculously massive building before him, clutching the camera as he filmed everything he saw.

He heard a thump behind him and he turned his head to look over at Colby who stood up straight, dusting himself off and shooting a cheesy grin Sam's way. Sam responded with a lopsided grin, feeling his heart melt as Colby tapped his back to urge him forward. "Holy crap man, look at the size of this place", Sam gushed and Colby nodded in agreement.

"It's huge".

"What if we like... Made an overnight video here?" Sam grinned to Colby from behind the camera, seeing Colby shrug lightly with a chuckle. "I'm sure good ol' Uncle Elton would spring at the idea, bring Amanda and Corey, force them to play the Ouija board... In fact, if this video gets 70,000 likes we'll spend the night here", Colby laughed as he threw a thumbs up, clearly joking as Sam shook his head at him. 

"Whatever dude".

________________________

"Door locked?" Sam sighed when Colby tugged on the door handles with no luck unfortunately, he turned to Sam with a frown when they refused to budge. "Shit", Sam looked around, flashing his light around in hopes to find an alternative way in. "There!" Sam saw a shattered window opening, about a few windows from the doors to the left. 

"Nice, it's a bit high so I'll boost you in and you can help me up after", Colby suggested as he jogged to the window while rubbing his hands together. Sam told Colby as well as the camera he was going to switch it off until they got in, not wanting to somehow damage it. He switched it off and slipped it securely into his bag. He walked up to Colby and placed his foot into Colby's clasped together hands, reaching up and gripping at the rim of the sill, instantly retracting while shrieking out in pain.

Colby lost hold and accidentally dropped him, his eyes wide and alert.

"Shit! Sam, what happened? Are you okay?" Colby rushed to his aid, seeing Sam raise his hands while hissing, revealing his cut up palm which had blood seeping through to view. "That was really fucking dumb of me, of course it's covered in fucking glass, shit!" Sam scolded himself, seeing Colby pull out some bandages and wrapping up his hands delicately.

"We need to be more careful, don't be so hard on yourself Sam", Colby said calmly, packing away the gauze when he finished. "Thank you Colby", Sam mumbled, rubbing his hands together.

"You good?" Colby asked, reluctantly raising his hand to Sam's face and tracing his fingers over his cheek gently, chewing his lower lip. 

"Yeah".

Colby cut himself from his momentary trance and stood, helping Sam to his feet. "Did you bring that extra hoody like I said?" Sam huffed after a pause, turning to Colby with a risen brow. "Yes?"

"We can put that on the window sill to avoid any more accidents", Sam spoke as he took the hoody from Colby's bag and allowed Colby to lift him once again, laying the fabric over the rim and soon climbing in. With his hands gripping the cloth, he hopped inside and breathed out deeply but didn't look around just yet, it was too dark to make anything out regardless.

"Come on", he reached over and took Colby's hand, pulling him up and inside the room, huffing out and rubbing his bandaged palms against his thighs. He took out the camera while Colby collected their flashlights. 

"Okay guys, we just got inside and I have stupidly cut my hands on the window but Colby was nice enough to patch 'em up for me", Sam spoke as Colby clicked on his light and looked around room. It seemed to be a cafe like area, a waiting room perhaps. 

"Woah, that's insane, there's no graffiti? You sure we in the right place?" Colby smirked lightly as he trailed his light over the clean cream coloured walls. Sam chuckled and nodded in agreement, tracing his finger over the small circular tables, drawing a line through the dust layered surface.

"It's so old dude, like no one has been here from ages", Sam murmured, turning to Colby who looked over and nodded, walking over to Sam and taking the camera. Sam exhaled deeply and walked towards the doorway which lacked an actual door. "It's so quiet", Colby whispered and Sam nodded in agreement, walking through the hallway, flashing his light down at the floor where the missing door from the other room was found.

Colby flashed his light over the thrown open cabinets, document and odd items spilling out. "It's such a mess, I wonder what happened here?" Sam added, looking up at the ceiling and walls, cracks running all along the sides, paint peeling from the surfaces due to many years of neglect no doubt.

"Maybe they went bankrupt? I mean, a hospital so far and isolated from everything, money couldn't have been easy to get, the most recent piece of modern day technology I've seen here are literally the lights..." Colby included.

"And an elevator", Sam gestured with his light to something behind Colby who turned and gushed at the sight of the ancient looking lift, the folding fence completely bent outwards.

"Holy crap dude, do you think it still works?" Colby heard Sam beam, striding over. "Careful", Colby informed, gnawing at his lower lip. Sam pushed the inner bars out, with much struggle. He rubbed his hands together and leaned forward to look inside.

"Hey Colby, hand me the camera quick?" Sam insisted to which Colby reluctantly obeyed, watching as Sam filmed what was inside, taking a step in and pausing before taking another step.

About two seconds later, the sound over overworked gears groaning enacted from above and the entire lift started to rock as a snap sounded. Sam screamed and lunged out the doors of the elevator, dropping the camera near Colby who shot to his aid, grabbing his arm and jerking him out just as the elevator snapped and barreled downwards to the basement level most likely.

"Holy fuck!" Colby gasped out loudly, gripping Sam tightly as he stared at the empty space where the elevator originally sat, his eyes wide and his heart thumping against his ribs.

There was a long pause of silence between the two before Sam breathed out and covered his face with his bandaged palms, leaning against Colby. "I think we should go", Colby swallowed but Sam instantly declined. "No, it's fine, we just need to be more careful and take the stairs", Sam tried to pull away but Colby held on.

"Sam..."

"No, seriously, it's cool dude, it's so fucking cool, let's just keep going and be more careful", Sam finally tore himself from Colby's arms and walked over to the camera, ensuring it was undamaged as he lifted it from the ground. 

"Let's just do this".

_______________


	3. Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It gets sketchy af.

The next floor was messier than the first, random objects flung all over the place, most furniture destroyed either by decay or just torn apart by physical force at some point.

Somehow the two ended up going to separate rooms, Colby now handling the camera, walking into a hospital room which had the patient cots ripped up and upside down. The window was shattered and a wheelchair was set in the center of the room, facing the window.

"Okay okay, I'm not creeped out, totally not at all", he looked into the lens of the camera and smiled crookedly. "Appetizing wouldn't ya say guys?" He smiled charmingly before looking at the chair again. "No... It's a little creepy..." Colby approached the chair and huffed before turning to leave until he felt a cold drift brush over the nape of his neck, sending chills to rattle along his spine, goosebumps raising at his flesh.

"I should probably go find Sam", He said to the camera, his voice noticeably shaking. 

_"Colby...", _A whisper sounded all around him which made him shriek and spin around, feeling thoroughly creeped out. _"Colby", _it became more apparent and it sounded a lot like Sam.____

____"What the fuck?" He breathed, furrowing his brows while looking all around the room in search for whomever was saying his name._ _ _ _

____"Sam?" He called._ _ _ _

____"Yeah?" A distant voice called back to him, about two rooms away and Colby knew that this was all just too much. He headed for the door only to see it swing and slam shut. "Oh my god! Shit! Sam!" Colby yelled, dropping the camera to his side as he banged his fists against the door._ _ _ _

____"Colby?" Sam spoke from the other side of the door. "Sam, let me out! Id this is some kind of fucked up prank, it really isn't funny!" Colby growled, jiggling at the handle which felt jammed, banging on the surface harder._ _ _ _

____"I didn't! I swear to god!"_ _ _ _

____"Sam, help me out here! Why is the handle jammed?!" Colby started to panic, tugging on the knob desperately._ _ _ _

_____"Colby..." ____ _ _ _

______Colby screamed as he began hyperventilating, bashing his shoulder against the door. "Sam! Please!" He begged._ _ _ _ _ _

______"I'm trying!"_ _ _ _ _ _

_______"Colby..." ____ _ _ _ _ _

________Colby screeched in fear, bashing the door once again and breaking it right off its hinges, nearly hitting Sam in the process. "Sam! Sam! Oh my god! Holy fuck!" Colby gasped with wide and wild eyes as he gripped Sam's cheeks while breathing heavily._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"What happened? Are you okay?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"We need to go, right now!" Colby grabbed the camera which was on the ground and took Sam's hand, dragging him to the stairs exit and travelling down the steps as fast as he could despite nearly tripping multiple times. "Slow down!" Sam cried out as Colby kicked the doors open, his eyes darting around in search for the room which they had entered through._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Colby!" Sam screamed as his hand was ripped from Colby's and he was thrown back into the door, tumbling down the stairwell and falling down a few steps._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Sam!" Colby broke through the doors and rushed down the steps, huddling beside the trembling figure of his best friend. "Come on Sam, it'll be fine! We need to leave!" Colby lifted Sam in his arms and allowing him to hold the camera, carrying him out the stairwell with some struggle._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He eventually reached the cafe they originally entered through but froze in the doorway, his jaw dropped in horror._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The window was no longer gone, a tinted frame of glass in the place of where just before it was empty._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"No, no, no! This is not fucking happening!" Colby trembled, petrified and confused, lowering Sam to his feet. Sam gawked at the window in horror, leaning on the wall for support as a throbbing pain coursed through his veins._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Break it! Grab a chair and smash it!" Sam desperately instructed, Colby nodding and grabbing the backrest of a chair and stepping up to the window to throw the chair at it with all his might. Sam watched as it collided with the glass and bounced off the surface just to smack Colby right in the face which knocked him off his feet, dropping the chair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Colby!"Sam quickly limped towards his friend who curled up in a ball, covering his face. Something harshly collided with Sam's good leg, knocking him from his feet and his side slamming onto the solid ground._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Fuck!" He shrieked as the camera left his clutches and slid to the corner of the room, the lenses facing them. "Sam!" Colby crawled to his friend and grabbed his upper arm and tugging him clumsily to the wall under the window, pulling him close._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He watched with terror as the tables began to drift in mid air, fearfully ducking his head to nuzzle himself against Sam. The two boys holding one another like their lives depended on it, which seemed to be the case._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________They screamed and screamed as loud thuds resonated all around them, yet they kept their heads down and their eyes shut, clutching desperately to one another. This wasn't funny. They weren't having fun._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It ended with a shattering of glass and shards showered over their heads, indicating the window had been broken._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________They screamed but stayed put, their throats already raw from all their screaming and screeching. They sobbed hysterically, trembling and no other sounds were heard aside from their whimpers. Colby was the first to lift his head, looking around only to pale at the state of the room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Nothing. No mess, no broken chairs, no clutter. It was as if it remained untouched, it looked exactly as it had from when they first came in, his eyes were wide and glossed over with tears._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"What... What the fuck?" Colby looked down at Sam who looked around in confused awe, disbelief flooding his features. "We need to go", Colby immediately perked, honestly not giving two fucks. He just wanted to go home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Colb... Colby... You're bleeding", Sam reached up to Colby's face, taking note of the deep looking cut on his friend's forehead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"We can worry about that later, come on Sam, let's get the fuck out", Colby stubbornly slapped Sam's hands away and climbed to his feet, marching towards the camera and picking it up. "It's still recording", Colby announced as he turned, seeing Sam struggling to his feet, unable to use his legs without feeling a piercing shot of pain._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________"Let's get the fuck out of here"._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	4. Please help me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof

"How are we supposed to get over the gate Colby?" Sam limped alongside Colby, his arm over his shoulders for support. "I dunno, just... Just give me a second to think", Colby looked through the bars at his car. "Well think fast, I feel like it won't be over until we get the fuck off the plot of land", Sam weakly wiped the lens of the camera before he lifted it to showcase his already bruising face.

"Guys, I don't know if you saw what happened in there... I dunno if what happened even did happen, but we must stress the fact that we are NOT fucking joking, this isn't scripted or fake. I'm scared and so is Colby, I'm gonna keep it rolling for safety sake or evidence..." Sam bit his lip and looked over at Colby who angrily kicked the bars. 

"Son of a bitch!"

"Colby! Getting angry isn't going to get us out of here any sooner!" Sam scolded him, turning the camera to face his partner. They were petrified, that much was obvious. This entire scenario had gone completely unplanned, they had no intention to put themselves in such danger. Colby was upset with himself, he insisted to Sam they'd be fine on their own when Sam suggested bringing Elton, Brennen or perhaps Katrina.

Colby scoffed at the thought of Sam's girlfriend.

"Fuck", Colby rubbed his head, the pain only just becoming apparent. "Are you-"

"I'm fine Sam, that's not what's important right now!" Colby looked up at the tree which they had used to get in beforehand. "Colby maybe you should-"

"I said I'm fine Sam!" Colby growled angrily to which made Sam flinch. "Okay... I'm sorry", Sam looked down into the lens of the camera with a forlorn look. Colby's eyes dulled and he meandered over to his older friend. "I'm sorry... You didn't deserve that", Colby kneeled in front of him and took Sam's free hand, kissing it gently. "Find a way", Sam retracted his hand quickly and brought it to his chest, watching Colby's expression pale before he scoffed and stood.

Sam couldn't help but smile sheepishly to himself and lift the hand Colby had kissed, the skin where his lips were tingled. He brought his hand to his face and kissed his own hand, closing his eyes. 

A clash brought him back to reality and he looked to see Colby dangling from the tree branch, swinging from side to side, trying to pull himself up onto it. Sam gulped and turned the camera so it faced Colby. "Careful!" Sam called at him and Colby laughed breathlessly. "I'm always careful Golbach!" Sam appreciated Colby's attempt to lighten the mood. 

Colby was able to hoist himself onto the body of the branch and he smiled nervously at his quivering friend who forced himself to stand and hobble to the gate. "Hurry and get this god damn lock broken", Sam shook the gate.

"Easy baby, the best comes to those who wait", Sam found Colby's timeless flirts inappropriate, it was not the time or place to be making these jokes, no matter the situation. He hated these jokes.

Sam opened his mouth to spit a remark at Colby but was cut short when the branch let out a snap sound and broke right off the body of the tree. Colby screamed and collapsed onto the ground, laying unconscious. Sam stared at Colby for a good amount of time, not speaking or reacting, his mind almost unable to digest the situation. 

"Colby?" Sam sunk to his knees and reached his free arm through the bars, reaching at his friend. "Colby?" Sam started to laugh. Perhaps it was his minds way of dealing with the situation, or perhaps he was reaching a new point in his sanity that he hadn't reached yet. Perhaps all this chaos had driven him mad.

"Colby, come on dude, wake up", he sounded more stern, his voice cracking. He ushered Colby to stop messing around and just get up some more before he grew desperate and started to scream, shaking the gate violently and maintaining hold on the camera. "Colby! Please!" He begged.

"Sam..."

Sam felt shivers rattle down along his spine as he heard a faint voice call his name from behind. Instead of looking back he shook the gate more, desperate to get the fuck out. "COLBY! WAKE UP! PLEASE!" He screamed, his voice breaking again, sore still from earlier. "PLEASE COLBY PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WAKE UP!"

"Sam... What are you so afraid of?"

"No! Leave me alone! Colby please! Please god please!" He was sobbing hysterically, dropping the camera through the bars so it continued to face Colby. "Colby! Please help me! Colby! Colby!" He screeched, his voice growing fainter the more tone he lost. 

"Sam?" He paused when he heard Colby shuffle in his position, grunting. "Colby!" Sam's eyes widen in pure glee, his palms wrapping themselves around the bars. "Colby! Get up! You gotta get me out now! Please!" Sam finally looked back to be face with darkness and the distant wide open doors to the hospital. He turned to face Colby who weakly forced himself off the ground.

Sam's blood ran cold when a certain realisation struck him.

Those doors were locked weren't they. Without having to turn to make sure, he pulled himself onto his feet and screamed. He screamed and screamed, pleading, begging, sobbing. "Colby!"

"I'm trying Sam", he searched for something to smash the lock with, soon getting his hand on a fairly large rock. He tried to lift it quickly but his strength was at its minimum after passing out momentarily. He lifted it to hit the lock, but his strike turned into a puppylike pat. 

"Help!" Sam screamed, it was absolutely terrifying on both their parts, they had no idea why or what was happening, but all they did know is that they had to get out.

They had to get out now.

____________


	5. A phone call away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katrina doesn't like Sam's pranks.

Sam whipped his head around with a startled stumble of his feet at the sudden movement when he heard a shrill scream coming from the inside of the building. "What the fuck!?" Sam exclaimed, his eyes searching through the night darkness for the source. "Did you hear that?" Colby exclaimed, pausing for a moment before returning to his mission in breaking the lock and getting Sam the hell out.

"That can't be real! This place is fucked!" Sam was a wreck at that moment, he felt like he could slip into madness in a moments notice at this point, none of this was treating him well at all. There was another scream that sounded like a young girl, but Colby had bashed the lock off the gate and threw it open and hurried to Sam's side, pulling Sam against his chest and hugging him from behind.

"Let's get the hell out of here", Sam demanded desperately as he turned to face Colby, clutching his shoulders while he stared at his partner with wide, fearful eyes. "Yeah, come on Sam", Colby draped Sam's arm over his shoulders and grabbed the camera which was still rolling before he helped Sam limp his way to the vehicle.

"Help! Is anyone there?!" The same young voice cried out pleadingly, Colby being the only one that gave the building a glance, Sam too focused on getting in the car and driving the fuck away from this place.

"Sam, there's someone in there", Colby said.

"Have you not seen half the hell this place threw at us!? It's probably a fucking trick!" Sam shook his head at Colby, forcing the door to the passengers side of the car open and sitting down. Sam couldn't drive even if he wanted to, his legs were in too much pain for him to be able to work the gears.

"I know... But it's just..." Colby looked at the open doors a second time when he heard another cry. "There's no time to be a fucking hero Colby! We need to go now! Look at your head! Look at my legs, we need to see a doctor!" Sam negotiated with Colby, still irritated that he had to actually try and convince Colby it was a bad idea to even consider going back.

"Call Elton Sam, call someone while I check it out", Colby shut the door as if to end the conversation there, ignoring the muffled shouts that came from Sam inside the car. Colby cautiously meandered his way over, a million thoughts in his mind screaming at his stupidity just like Sam was. 

Yet that inner patriotism that burned in his heart told him he had to see who it was, if it really was a person who was scared and maybe even wounded. Sam slammed his hand on the dashboard in frustration as he watched Colby's back grow smaller the further he walked away from the car and to the building. 

"Idiot!" Sam glared down at the camera which was placed on the drivers seat facing the steering wheel. Sam searched the car as best he could for either his or Colby's phone, soon finding his own in the small compartment box in the middle of the car. With shaking hands he unlocked the phone, the blood that stained his fingertips marked the screen of his phone but that was honestly the least of his concerns. He went into his contacts and called the first person he thought of.

He brought the phone to his ear and shut his eyes tightly to hold back the tears that dared to fall. "Pick up, pick up... God damn pick up!' He growled desperately as it rung three times before the line picked up. "Hey babe!" Katrina sang to him, hitting his eardrums like an angel singing, relief swelling within him to the fact she picked up.

"K-Kat! Katrina! Thank god! I-I'm... We... Uh... We're in trouble... I-I don't know what the fuck is going on.... Colby j-just went off b-but I had to call for help a-and you were the f-first person I thought of", Sam spoke through his shaking voice, the tears finally breaking through the closed lids and streamed uncontrollably down his flushed cheeks. 

"Woah, woah, Sam! Babe calm down! Are you crying?" Katrina said with concern in his tone. "I'm so fucking scared Kat! I-I don't know what's going on... I don't know where Colby is... We-we were recording an exploration video f-for the Sam and Colby channel but it went terribly! I-I... Kat... Kat I can't move my fucking legs!" Sam started to sob pathetically as his free hand gently rubbed at his thigh, even that gesture alone made his limbs pang with agony.

"Ha, Sam this isn't time for a prank babe! You almost got me there!" Katrina simply brushed it off as one of his little jokes, clearly in denial that her boyfriend was in actual distress. "Wh-What?! No! I'm not fucking joking Katrina!" Sam desperately exclaimed, his eyes shot wide open in terror. 

"Listen babe, nice try but you know I'm outta town and mom and dad are waiting, we can talk later okay!?"

"Kat! No please! I'm being serious!" He exclaimed while he shook his head, the tears flying from his face. "Yeah babe! The acting is really coming along! I'll chat later, I love you!" Sam screamed for her not to go but soon the line went dead and he sat there in absolute shock that his own girlfriend had brushed off his desperate cry for help as a joke.

"Fucking! Fuck!" Sam didn't have time to throw a fit as he knew, so he went on to type Elton's number, quickly bringing it to his ear and waiting until Elton picked up just a moment later. "Sam? Can whatever you need wait, I'm kinda in the middle of something right-"

"Elton! Help me! We... We were attacked and Colby's gone off and hasn't come back! I'm so fucking scared dude! I just called Kat and she thought I was fucking joking! Please please PLEASE HELP!" Sam screamed into the phone, not wanting to waste any more time than he already had with that pathetic call with Katrina.

"Jeez man, calm down and breathe! Where are you two?"

Sam blurted out the hospital name about five times because Elton couldn't understand what he was trying to say between his spluttered sobs.

"I'll come as soon as I can, I'm heading to the car, Heath and Amanda are with me okay? Stay on the phone with me Sam!" Sam couldn't help but smile with relief for his friend Elton, silently thanking God that Elton believed him and was actually coming to their rescue. 

"Th-Thank you Elton! Thank God for..." He noticed something out of the corner of his eyes, his head slowly turning only for his heart to nearly spring right from his chest in terror at the figure of a young girl standing right outside the window beside him.

_______________________


	6. Stay with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oof

"What the fuck!?" Sam screeched at the top of his lungs, dropping his phone in shock. There was a moment of silence aside from Sam's increased breathing patterns and the muffled sound from Sam's phone. The girl didn't move and neither did Sam.

 

After what felt like centuries to Sam, the girl tilted her head back to show her hidden face to him. She was exceptionally pale and her eyes looked clouded and empty like a doll, her filthy brown hair was draped over most of her features. "What do you want from me!?" Sam screamed at her, the silence eating at him like a corrosive virus.

 

She rose her hand and placed it on the window, her red palm marking the glass before she dragged her hand down. Sam soon understood she was reaching for the handle and acted fast, slamming all the locks down as quick as he could. He had barely looked away from her for a second before he returned his stare only to find Colby lunging at the window, thrusting the side of his closed fist against the glass and scaring Sam half to death.

 

"Colby!" Sam cried out and unlocked the door, pushing it open as Colby slid down to the floor, shaking like a leaf. "Colby?! What happened?" Sam demanded as he opened the door carefully in attempt to avoid hitting him with the door. "The girl... Where did she..." Colby dazedly murmured and Sam leaned over, ignoring the pain throbbing in his legs to grab Colby's upper arm and force him to stand with what little strength he had.

 

"Are you okay? What happened Colby?" Sam pulled him to sit on the very edge of the seat, Sam cramming himself to the side to let Colby have what little space he could possibly offer on the one person seat. "There... A girl... She was there... Crying..." Colby shook his head as if trying to awaken himself like so. 

 

"What happened?"

 

"She... Ran?" Colby seemed unsure of himself. "I called Elton, Colby... He's on his way", Sam shook his head and suddenly remembered his phone, looking around his small space to catch sight of his mobile device. He spotted it wedged between the middle of the car and the passenger seat. Sam grumbled to himself and struggled to squeeze his hand through the small space to retrieve his phone.

 

"Colby, talk to me, you're all over the place", Sam gripped his friend's shoulder, seemingly startling him. "Sam... I-I..." Colby's head began drooping like he was about to pass out. "Hey! No no no! Don't sleep now you idiot! Don't leave me alone to face this again please!" Sam shook Colby while still trying to snatch his phone from its trapped confines. 

 

"I don't feel too good man", Colby murmured as Sam finally felt his fingers brush the side of the iPhone, a weak smile reaching his lips. "Stay with me Colby", Sam exclaimed as he inched the phone to a more reachable area. "I know Sam..." Colby agreed with a tired mumble, rubbing his face with his bloodied hand, the red straining his cheeks. 

 

"Gotcha!" Sam cried out triumphantly just as Colby's body heaved forward and he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees, vomiting painfully. "Shit! Colby!" Sam leaned forward a bit, staring at his best friend in pure worry, his eyes widening when he noticed Colby was in fact puking blood. 

 

Sam looked at his phone and saw his call with Elton had in fact ended but there were 9 missed called coming from Elton, 2 from Amanda and 3 from Heath along with 23 unread messages scattered between those three and a few from Kat saying how funny he was. "S-Sam..." Colby whimpered to which Sam gave him his full attention, his eyebrows risen in worry. 

 

"Is... Is that blood?" Colby leaned back and propped himself back on the car. "Don't look at it Colby, give me your hand", Sam's voice was weak and hardly convincing enough to ease both their nerves. Colby however obeyed and weakly rose his left hand, holding it by his right shoulder, allowing Sam to quickly clutch it and raise it to place a kiss on the top of his hand. 

 

"I'm so sorry Colby..." Sam mumbled against Colby's hand. "Huh?" Colby breathed.

 

"If only I hadn't insisted we keep exploring after that god damn elevator! This is all my fault, I'm so sorry Colby", Sam's tears spilled over again and landed on Colby's hand, collecting blood in the droplets. "Don't start... You could never have known Sam... Shut up, I'm not in the mood for that crap", Colby shook his head. 

 

Sam didn't stop crying however, small stifled sobs creeping from his quivering lips. It was now Colby's turn to kiss Sam's hand, his lips lingering on Sam's palm and his eyes closed slightly. They remained silent, aside from the small cries that left Sam, waiting about twenty minutes before headlights flashed from behind their car.

 

A wave of relief washed over the two boys as familiar voices called out their names and soon Elton was kneeling beside Colby, being sure to avoid the pool of blood near him. It all went by like a vague dream, soon Sam found himself in the backseat of Amanda's car, his head resting back on the door as he looked at his horribly damaged legs that were spread out on the back seat.

 

He looked out the back window at Colby's car which Heath was currently driving, Scotty sat in the passengers side with him. He didn't think Scotty would be here, not that he was complaining. He looked to the front of the car where Elton and Amanda were trying to speak to him but their words only came to him as blurred sentences, inaudible to his hearing. 

 

"Where's Colby?" Sam mumbled tiredly, a sudden panic flashing through him and his mind immediately thought that Colby was still missing, forgetting completely Colby was in the other car with Heath and Scotty.  "What? He's with Heath And Scott, he's fine Sam", Amanda answered his demand and Sam frowned in confusion almost as though he couldn't find himself believing what she was saying.

 

"Are you sure? Oh god we-we didn't leave him did we!? I could never forgive myself!" Sam started to panic and Elton looked back at him in concern. "Calm down Sam, he's okay, he's with Heath and Scott!"

 

"You aren't lying to me are you? No! That can't be true! He was in the hospital! We left him there! Oh fuck!" Sam started to scream in paranoia and Amanda cried out in surprise, the car slightly swerving as she jumped at the suddenness of Sam's screaming. "What's going on with him?!" Amanda cried out.

 

"PTSD... That place must've really fucked him up", Elton murmured before he tried to calm Sam down, constantly reassuring him they were safe and never going back to that damned place ever again.

 

_____________

 

(I was going to end it but I'm having a huge flash of motivation for this story).

 

"Where is Colby?" Sam demanded to the doctor once they had finished examining the state of his legs. His left knee had popped out of it's socket and his right leg was fractured. Sam had nearly broken both legs but was lucky enough to walk off with the injuries he had, he was required crutches at the very least, otherwise he'd have to refer to a wheelchair, but he refused. Sam had cracked one rib which he hardly even noticed until he was told, the pain only then reached him. 

 

The doctor rolled his eyes at Sam's desperate need to know of Colby's whereabouts. "Is he okay?!"

 

"He's alive and conscious, can't say he's completely fine in his state", this made Sam's heart thump in panic, his mind becoming a whirlwind at the thought of Colby being severely injured. "Just tell him the fucking details", Elton roughly demanded when he noticed Sam starting to hyperventilate.

 

"If you MUST know, he's received a rather major concussion, the skull was close to cracking at whatever impact it received, it's miraculous he didn't fall into a coma or lose his memory. He however has broken two ribs and fractured one, one of his ribs had lightly punctured his kidney but luckily it wasn't severe, we were able to fix it before it could become too dangerous, which is why you can't see him, they are currently performing surgery on him", the doctor spoke in an emotionless tone.

 

"How much longer?" Elton asked.

 

"I'd say they're nearly complete".

 

"When can I see him?" Sam demanded with wide and desperate eyes. "After his surgery is complete and you get your legs and ribs fully checked".

 

"That's too long!"

 

"Sam, calm down, it'll be fine", Amanda placed a hand on Sam's shoulder but he shrugged her off stubbornly. "I need to see him".

 

"We understand you just need to be patient, we promise we will take you to him the moment you can", this seemed to satisfy Sam enough to ease his nerves down, his eyes drifting off to stare at the wall on the other side of the room, ignoring the words his friends directed to him.

 

All he could think about was Colby. He needed to see Colby.

 

He HAD to see Colby.


	7. Wounded

Sam didn't sleep a wink the past six nights he spent in that hospital. He kept hearing and seeing things that weren't actually there and on top of that they still hadn't given him the chance to see Colby no matter how many times he's demanded it.

His teeth gnawed at the tip of his thumb as he stared at the dull peach wallpaper in front of his bed, his eyes memorized every crease and crack in that space at this point. He thought about three things repeatedly in his time here. The girl, the hospital and Colby. Colby more than the rest.

He tried his best not to think about the other two options so he mainly found himself thinking worriedly about Colby's well-being and whereabouts. 

Why the hell couldn't he see his best friend? Were they trying to hide something? Is he actually dead? Did they really just leave Colby at the hospital but didn't tell Sam? If Colby is alive and here was he thinking about Sam just as Sam was thinking about Colby?

Sam let these questions eat away at him shamelessly. He couldn't filter them because these questions would only build up more until he saw Colby again. He wanted nothing more than to just SEE Colby and makes sure he was okay. The thought of Colby being dead or being left at that place made Sam want to vomit.

Sam turned his head to the digital clock on the side table, seeing it was officially 00:00 am meaning it was leading up to the seventh night he has wasted away in this fucking place. He looked down at his legs pathetically, contemplating on and on until he threw the sheets from his body and swung his legs over the edge while trying his best to ignore the searing pain that swarmed through him.

He was going to find Colby if it was the last thing he did. He reached for the wheelchair he so very much hated using and forced himself painfully to lower himself into the seat, biting down on his lip to refrain from crying out.

"Okay Sam... pull yourself together", Sam whispered to himself.

"Gotta find Colby, gotta find Colby", he repeated as his hands gripped the wheels and he began guiding himself around the bed and to the door.

He carefully pushed the door open, allowing the hallway light to deep inside his dark room which had been enough for him to peek around.

Once he believed the coast was clear he pulled the door fully open and rolled himself out. A part of him knew this was a fucking dumb idea and he was no doubt going to get caught being on this very noticeable very slow wheeled contraption, yet a part of him believed he could somehow pull it off.

It ended up in vain as he heard his name being called and he looked back to see his nurse, Miss Welsing, trotting over to him in concern.

"Sam? You know if you needed me you could've buzzed? Do you need the bathroom or-"

"Colby..." was all Sam said and all he needed to say, watching her expression fade into a look of pity.

"Sam..."

"Please. Why won't you let me see him? It's driving me insane!" Sam smacked her hands when she reached for the handles. Rena Welsing had no idea why they wouldn't let Sam and Colby interact. They both had been requesting each other's presence but they kept them apart.

The doctor said that time away from one another after the clear trauma would be good, but according to most of the staff, it was killing the young boys. Sam was the worst. He would have massive panic attacks, bad enough that they had to sedate and stabilize him. Colby would throw fits but not as bad as Sam.

"Honey-"

"Please! I'm begging you! Even if he's just asleep, let me see him once! I'll stop talking about it if you just let me SEE him", somehow this actually convinced her to follow through his request and she sighed in defeat, a cheerful grin spreading over Sam's cheeks.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

She guided Sam's wheelchair to the other side of the building, nurses familiar with both Sam and Colby giving him side glances as he waved happily, satisfactory that he'd be able to finally see his partner.

She opened the door to Colby's room and peered inside, noticing the brunette jolt up in surprise, clearly indicating he hadn't been asleep to begin with.

"Colby? You're still awake? Good you see-"

"Colby?" Sam forced himself to stand despite the EXTREME pain throbbing in his legs, making him cry out every second he spent applying weight to his feet.

"Sam!" Colby threw his legs to the edge of the bed and stood up, his walking condition far better than Sam's. Rena found herself trying to get Sam back in his seat but he clumsily pushed her aside and stumbled painfully towards his friend, throwing his arms around Colby desperately and allowing his legs to collapse right then and there as he cried out.

"Oh my god! I'm so glad to see you're okay", Colby caught Sam and ignored the pain in his body when Sam leaned himself into Colby.

"You... You... Fuck you! Idiot!" Was all Sam managed to say as Colby, helped by Rena, brought Sam to the bed, sitting him down carefully.

The two males were ecstatic. They started crying to one another about how much they missed each other, how concerned and worried they were. They spent ten minutes sobbing like infants, inaudible speech slurred from their mouths as they tried to control their breathing patterns.

Rena felt her heart melt at the sight of the two reuniting once again, crying like star crossed lovers that had been separated for far too long. 

By the time Sam and Colby had pulled themselves together, they were chatting and chatting one another up like they had done so much in the past week apart, very obviously avoiding the elephant in the room.

"Sam... I hate to break it up honey but you need to get back to your room and rest", it broke Rena's heart to separate the two but if the doctor caught them together he wouldn't be very pleased with her.

The two let out whines and begged to let them stay together for the night but she reminded them it wasn't her responsibility or her authority that could allow them to stay together.

Sam stubbornly snaked his arms around Colby's frame and whined loudly and childishly, refusing to relieve his partner from his protective hold. "I'll organise for you two to meet up later today, how does that sound?" She bargained, already wracking her brain on how the hell she'd be able to follow through with it. 

The two hesitated before agreeing and slowly separating from their chained holds, their hands lingering in their interlocked places, eyes glued to each other as Sam slowly lowered from the bed to his wheeled seating.

"Goodnight", Colby's hands left Sam's as they were pulled away.

"Goodnight..."

 

___________________


	8. Katrina

In all the years that Sam and Colby have known one another, this time they could hardly bare being separate. The urge to be in one another's company burned through them like scorching flames. By the time Rena was able to organise their rendezvous, the boys were shaking with anticipation.

Sam had wobbled his way to get seated in the damn wheeled contraption, bubbling with excitement. Colby shot out of his seat when the doors opened, immediately darting to Sam and enveloping him into a warm hug. The two acted as though their last interaction occurred decades ago when in fact it had only been 6 hours.

Rena supervised the two boys as time flew by, taking note of the fact they couldn't keep their hands off one another, whether Colby hand his hand on Sam's knee or they were holding hands.

She would've suspected them to be a couple, she mistook them for one until she was notified Sam had a visitor, a girl claiming to be his significant other.

Saying she was surprised was an understatement, she was bewildered and overall very confused. Its been a week since Sam and Colby were entered, this girl hadn't called or visited until today.

"Uh... Sam? Honey, I'm so sorry to interrupt", Rena approached the two timidly.

"What is it?" Colby spoke up, gripping tightly to Sam's hand.

"Sam, you have a visitor... Who's very eager to see you".

"Who?" Sam tilted his head with a noticeably agitated glint resonating in his eyes. "Your girlfriend sweetie", she watched him frown in confusion. "My girl-Katrina?"

"Yes."

Sam's lips remained parted as a wave of realisation washed over his features before he looked to Colby who was now just staring blankly at their intertwined fingers before hesitantly retracting. "You should... See her", Colby traced his tongue over his upper lip before he met Sam's stare.

"But..." Sam grabbed at Colby's shirt sleeve while giving him a pleading look. "You know you have to Sam".

"But I... I don't want to leave you", Sam murmured to Colby, now gripping to the collar of his shirt. "We'll meet afterwards, promise", Colby placed a gentle kiss upon the top of Sam's hand before ascending from his seat.

"See you soon Samuel".

___________________

"Sam!" Katrina threw her arms around Sam's neck and he tensed, his eyes slightly widening in surprise. Usually he'd be ecstatic to see his girlfriend but right now, all he wanted to do was see Colby.

"Hey Kat", he gently rubbed her back, waiting for her to pull away. "Oh my god! I was so worried about you! I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner than now", she finally pulled away to lean over and kiss his lips.

Sam tensed even more, making no effort to kiss her back with his eyes darting around the room awkwardly. Rena watched the entire scene unfold, the endeavor of the situation starting to become a lot more clear to her.

Katrina pulled away to fold Sam into another hug, a small grunt leaving his lips as he looked over at the dark skinned nurse with a desperate look. She gave him a gentle shrug and looked down at her clipboard, trying to look busy.

Katrina blubbered on and on about how worried she was and how sorry she was for not coming sooner, not really giving full excuses but Sam just wanted this interaction to be over so he could get back to Colby. "-But how are you? How's Colby". It was made note to Katrina how her boyfriend's eyes sparked with light at the mention of Colby's name, the way his eyes used to whenever she and Sam saw each other.

It was made note of the fact he looked at her like he just didn't want to be here with her.

"I just saw him before you came, he's doing good with a concussion and two broken ribs. He seemed alright for the most part but at least he can walk properly", Sam looked at his nearly useless legs with a forlorn expression. "You'll be fine Sam, I know you will", she leaned up again to kiss him but he played it off by looking towards Rena with a nod.

"Why didn't you call?" He finally asked, looking down at her disappointed expression, still getting over the fact Sam blatantly dismissed her kiss.

"Call? I tried, I really did, then Elton called me the other day and told me about what happened. I called the hospital but they kept saying I couldn't talk to you", Sam saw Rena look up from the corner of his eye, noticing her face showed disapproval and annoyance.

"Is that so?" Sam smirked to himself.

"I wouldn't lie to you", she smiled lightly and he shook his head, twiddling his thumbs. "Nor would I to you", he mumbled and she frowned, tilting her head slightly.

"I'd like to think that we're so?"

"Yet you still thought I was lying when I called you for help", his eyes met hers again and they were razor sharp, watching as the colour drained from her tanned cheeks.

"Sam, you've done this so much how could I-"

"I was screaming and crying hectically yet you did nothing, do you honestly expect me to believe that you called or tried to get here? You fucking liar", Sam snarled at her before he turned away and insisted arena take him back to Colby.

"Sam, that's not fair! I didn't-"

"I'm done with this conversation, you'll have to wait until next time", he grinned coldly as Rena wheeled him out the room, he now beaming because he was returning back to be in the presence of his dear friend. Katrina now only a thought in the back of his mind.

A simple, useless thought.

___________


	9. Home Sweet...

"But I can't walk yet", Sam argued with the doctor who rolled his eyes at him yet again. "Do you expect these things to heal overnight Mr Golbach? You are perfectly capable with crutches!"

 

"I don't want crutches though! I want to be able to walk! If it's all the same to you!" He snapped and Rena placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. 

 

"Well you're going to have manage with them, unless you want to stay here while your friend Colby leaves and goes home without you", he challenged and Sam scoffed, biting his tongue to hold back any more remarks. 

 

"Whatever you say doctor", Sam sunk in the seat of his wheelchair, finally wearing something other than the crap the hospital provided. He and Colby have been given permission to leave the hospital and go home, along with regular checkups with a therapist and doctor. 

 

Sam didn't want a therapist. All he wanted was Colby. If he had issues he wanted to talk about, he'd rather express them to his best friend and companion, someone he trusts with his life. 

 

Colby seemed to be taking the situation a lot better than Sam was. Sam had become hostile with everyone besides Colby, he's grown detached and skeptical of all his friends. Colby supposed it was because of Katrina when's he denied his pleas and downright lied when she visited Sam. 

 

His trust in others has been compromised. 

 

Colby wasn't doing any better. His entire memory timeline has been distorted from his concussion. He was experiencing mild memory loss and distortion. He forgot some things and a lot of what he can remember was out of order. His head was a bubble of confusion but all he thought was important was that he remembered Sam and what generally lead them up to where they are. 

 

He remembers arriving at the hospital but not in the way you'd think. He'd replay these moments like he was watching it from a 3rd person point of view. He wasn't there but at the same time he was. 

 

He remembered being attacked and he remembered protecting Sam until the car. He had no idea what happened after he went inside the hospital upon hearing the screams. After that all he remembers is laying in the back of his car on the way to the hospital. 

 

He wanted to tell the doctor this but every time he got to doing it he backed out. All he wanted was to go home at this point. 

 

The biggest difference between Sam and Colby was that Sam wanted to forget and Colby wanted to remember. 

 

________

 

"Could you go any slower?" Colby teased as Sam etched himself out of Elton's car. "Do you want to be a cripple Colby? You piece of shit", Sam smirked lopsidedly as he pulled out both his crutches and heaved himself onto his semi-stable feet, his friends walking alongside him to ensure he doesn't fall over. 

 

Sam and Colby looked up at their large house and felt it's shadow dawn down on them. It was their home but he felt so claustrophobic. 

 

"Looky here! The explorers had made their triumphant return at last!" Corey spoke in a sing song voice as he wrapped Colby in a warm and welcoming hug before doing the same to Sam. 

 

"I honestly wasn't sure if y'all were gonna make it back", Corey crossed his arms and eyes them both. 

 

"Oh please, you aren't getting rid of us that easy!" Sam winked playfully and Corey rolled his eyes while letting out a loud and exasperated sigh. 

 

"Damn! I was really hoping we got you this time!"

 

"Close one though!" Aaron squawked from his seat in the kitchen. "Hey Aaron!" Sam carried himself to the kitchen hurriedly, hitting the leg of Aaron's chair with the bottom of his crutches. 

 

"Hey Sammy", Aaron looked at him with a disgruntled expression which made the blonde chuckle. 

 

"You two must be exhausted from the hospital!" Devyn spoke as she hugged both boys. "You have no idea!"

 

"Which is why we're, or rather me, I don't speak for Sam here but, I'm gonna go upstairs and crash!" Colby exclaimed, clasping his hands together and saluting the rest casually, exchanging a lingering stare with Sam before making his way up the steps. 

 

Sam watched him walk off and turned to his friends, deciding to stay behind and catch up with them. He'd rather have them distract him from his livid mind. 

 

______

 

Sam was back at the hospital, his back flexed painfully due to the glass it was laid down upon. He let out startled cries and tried to push himself up to sit upright but stopped when the shards punctured the skin in his palms. 

 

He started to cry and whine, slowly turning his head side to side, his eyes darting around wildly as he his lips parted to scream out in desperation. He screamed and screamed. But something was wrong. So very wrong. 

 

He strained his voice that was not making sound. He was screaming but it was silent, like his voice box had been removed from his body. 

 

Hot tears streamed down his cut up cheeks as he tried to make a sound but the only audible noise was his body shaking against the glass shattered floor. 

 

Soon he started noticing whispers echoing all around him, the darkness seemed to be closing in on him and he opened his mouth wide to scream and scream more. His face was red and his ears felt close to popping from pressure. He tried to move but the pain kept him ground and he was felt silently screeching for the terrors to leave him in peace. 

 

Peace. Please. Help me. 

 

"Sam!" He heard a faint voice through the deafening silence. He looked around frantically to search for the host of the voice but all he could see was the darkness consuming the landscape of that fucking hospital around him. 

 

"Sam! Sam wake up!" The voice was clearer now and he shut his eyes, his own voice becoming more apparent and he could hear the faintness of his screams finding itself. 

 

______

 

"Sam! Sam wake up! You're having a nightmare!" Sam shut up in his bed, his body rattled and shivered horribly as he hyperventilated and looked around. 

 

"Hey hey hey! Sam look at me! It's okay! I'm here!" Colby cupped his hands over Sam's wet and red cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet in the darkness. 

 

"C-Colby!" Sam immediately tackled his friend in an embrace, shamelessly allowing sobs of hysteria to be exposed. 

 

"It was horrible! I couldn't move! I-I couldn't scream for help! Oh fuck I hate this so much!" His body trembled against Colby's bare chest, thanking for the comfort of his companion. 

 

Colby shushed him and rocked their bodies side to side, his palm gently tracing along the muscles of Sam's back which flexed at the touch. 

 

"Please stay with me! I can't sleep alone!" Sam begged and Colby didn't even have to think about as he lay there with Sam. Holding him like he was the most important thing in the world. 

 

And at that moment he was. 

 

_________


	10. Replay

They both knew this would come eventually. The day they should look over the footage of what happened that night.

Sam tried his damn best to avoid this, he didn't want to watch it back, no he didn't want to see it. Colby wanted to see but at the same time he was petrified.

Although he couldn't remember everything, he was scared that if he were to watch it and remember, he'd be as traumatized as Sam. He wanted to be strong for Sam, because god knew Sam needed someone to be strong for his sake.

Elton had already watched the footage before they returned, he was the only other person that had experienced the shit they've gone through, maybe not firsthand but he's seen what they went through.

A lot of what was captured was a major confusion and horror to him. Elton wasn't really one to get swayed by these things but what he saw made his blood run cold. He couldn't begin to imagine what Sam and Colby were feeling when they were there but he could tell this wasn't some kind of 'abandoned hospital joke'.

"I don't want to see it", Sam shook his head roughly and Colby sighed, looking over at Elton who watched from his position at Sam's door. "We need to see what happened Sam... If we could just-"

"I don't want to see what happened! We were there Colby! I don't want to replay what happened at that shithole!"

"You know..." Colby traced his fingers over Sam's knee. "If this footage is convincing enough, we can get this place burnt to the ground", Colby gave Sam a encouraging look.

"That's... Good... But I don't want to watch it back Colby... If you're so determined to see it, you can go watch it alone."

"I don't want to watch it without you, I need you there with me, we're in this together aren't we?" Colby muttered softly and took Sam's hand, intertwining their fingers.

Elton felt so out of place at that moment, he had watched the two grow closer and closer each day. He thought they depended on each other too much. He wasn't sure if this was just them 'falling in love' or if this was turning into an obsession because of the truth they knew together. Losing each other could destroy them heavily.

"Do you want to put the video up online?" Elton perked and the two looked at him in surprise, like they had forgot he was there in the first place.

"I-I don't know... Maybe that would make the situation seem ingenuine... We-We can take it to authorities before considering publishing it to any social media site..." Sam spoke after a moment of thoughtful silence.

"What if authorities accuse us of just being some 'kids' playing some kind of joke?" Colby mumbled, his free hand on Sam's knee with his thumb gently rubbing into the skin.

"They'll be even more sure that it's fake if we give in the footage after putting it online! Besides, how can it be fake to the police? They see the video, unedited and compare that to our time spent in the hospital? What kids would go through so much trouble to broadcast pain, trauma and fear for some 'joke'!?" Colby squeezed Sam's hand gently to tell him to calm down.

"What if your fined for breaking and entering into private property?"

"Fuck Elton! We'll pay the fucking fine! I want that fucking place burned to the ground or at least demolished!" Sam screamed at him, momentarily losing himself in his outburst of rage.

"Sam, easy", Colby said softly and Sam closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. "I don't want to rewatch the footage... You do what you want with it but I only want us to get our justice, as long as that place stands I can't ease up", Sam pulled his hand away from Colby's and crossed his arms over his chest while turning his head away from them.

Colby could tell there was no getting through to him and he sighed as he looked back at Elton with a defeated stare.

He was going to have to see for himself.

___________

Most of it didn't make sense, going from a happy go lucky funny YouTube video to sudden turning grotesque as the night progressed. It started going to shit from the moment Sam cut his hands on the window and after the elevator incident.

Slowly things were starting to make sense in Colby's head, but the more he understood, the more frightened he became which caused him to start wondering whether maybe not knowing would've been for the better.

It reached the point where he and Sam were huddled against the wall, the camera was facing the room but you couldn't see much above knee level. Things fell apart and broke which soon seemed to disappear in a flash. It was surreal.

One moment the floor was covered in glass and broken pieces of furniture and the next, in a snap, it was gone. Just vanished.

Elton watched Colby's expression more than he watched the recording, he could see the varying emotions he reflected which confirmed any of his suspicions. Of course he had second thoughts about this video, they were very small doubts but they washed away when he watched Colby review the scenes. Those expressions were genuine.

At some point, Sam had hobbled by and vewed from a distance at the doorway, he lingered silently, noticing that neither Elton nor Colby were made aware of his presence.

He watched the scene where he was left in the car after Colby had gone back inside, the camera was facing more of the dashboard than Sam. You could only barely make out that Sam was looking for a phone and called Katrina.

Involuntarily, the side of his fist rammed into the wall as he listened to that conversation that Katrina and simply brushed aside. The betrayal burned through him even now and it repelled him entirely.

Colby flinched and looked back, Elton doing the same, now made aware that Sam was present. Elton paused the video quickly and looked back with an apologetic expresion, knowing that Sam hadn't wanted to watch back in the first place.

Sam sucked in a deep breath and hobbled over, his hands red and raw from gripping the handles of the crutches to carry his weight around. "Sam... You don't-"

"It's fine, it's not so bad from here..." Colby moved over in his seat to make space for Sam but was surprised when Sam took a seat in his lap instead, resting his head against Colby's chest.

Elton nor Colby said anything about it and continued the video, moving onto Sam's call with Elton and with him screaming at something in the window which the camera caught a slight view of but not enough to be able to decipher what it was.

Sam flinched and turned his head to face Colby, looking into his eyes before leaning closer and burying his face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his soothing aroma.

He stayed like this for the rest of the video, only using his hear to figure out what was happening, he could see it all in his mind perfectly. Those emotions of worrying over Colby, thinking that he could have lost him. It sent a unbearable burning in his chest and his body began to shake as tears surfaced in his view.

He felt Colby's arms envelope around him and he instantly felt safer, wrapping his own arms around Colby. He couldn't bear going through that again.

Losing Colby would be the end of him.

He could lose anything and everything, his mind, his reputation and his body but not Colby. He couldn't lose Colby if it was the last thing he ever did.

He would rather die.

_________


	11. Deal

Colby was at a loss for words, for thoughts, for everything. His memories were pieced together but it hurt his head to think about it. Maybe remaining oblivious would have been better.

He felt emotionally drained, more stressed with wondering whether he could continue being strong for Sam like he has thus far. He now understood what Sam was feeling, and he didn't like it.

He now understood why Sam clung to him desperately, trembled and suffered from night terrors, cried at random times and distrusted anyone but Colby alone. His PTSD was far more severe but he could understand why. 

Sam expressed to Colby that he was so scared. He was scared after what happened that he lost Colby in that place and wouldn't be able to live with himself if it happened a second time. 

Sam was like an abused and abandoned puppy being brought into a loving home, desperate for love but too timid to request for some. He was ready to obey Colby at the snap of his fingers, fearing that any wrong doings could end their relationship together.

Whatever you could call said relationship. 

They weren't together. But it felt inappropriate to just call them 'best friends' because best friends don't depend on each other this heavily for loving affection. Sam showered Colby in attention receiving nothing less than the same treatment. 

After Colby saw the video he grew more anxious, and at times, Sam was the one needing to comfort Colby. He liked being the shoulder Colby could cry on. It meant Colby trusted and loved him.

They spent a week afterwards dwelling on what actions they should take. Knowing they'd have to post something to their designated channels as well as their shared one to explain the reasons behind their sudden hiatus.

They slept in the same bed, feeling more at ease when in the other's presence. Sam didn't have that many nightmares when he could sense Colby's warmth, but that didn't mean he slept well. When he did sleep, it was incredibly restless and he rarely felt energised in the mornings.

Colby had dreams every night, they were disturbing but not scary enough to wake him up in a cold sweat. He'd wake up sometime in the middle of the night or the early hours of the morning and would just watch Sam silently sleep.

He loved watching the calm expression on his unconscious face, his chest raising and lowering with every breath he sucked into his lungs. 

He knew when Sam was dreaming, seeing his expression change was a sign that he needed soothing, which Colby would take action to massage into his muscles or whisper sweet nothings into his ears. 

One night Sam woke up short of an hour after Colby had woken. It was somewhere around 4 am, which was later than usual for Colby to wake up, but it was stranger for  Sam to wake up so early.

"Hi..." Sam grumbled lightly when his tired eyes met Colby's. 

"Hey".

"Did I wake you?" Sam whispered, giving Colby a shy smile, his palms rubbing into his tired eyes. "I've been up for a while... Did you have a nightmare?"

"No... I just... Woke up", Sam chuckled and sat up, his hand on Colby's chest and his right leg between Colby's. His knees ached as he held up his body weight but made sure not to show it. 

"You feeling okay?" Colby reluctantly traced his fingers over Sam's thighs, but being sure not to travel too far up. 

"Colby, I haven't felt okay in quite a while", Sam chuckled blandly and Colby bit his bit in thought, wishing that he could help his friend get through this, but how can he help Sam if he himself is just as fucked up?

"I'm sorry", Colby mumbled and Sam smiled down at him gently, moving his legs to the both sides of Colby's hips, sitting on Colby's lower stomach and placing his hands on the mattress on either side of his head.

"Why are you apologising?"

"Because I don't know how to take away the trauma... If I could I would exchange all of the peace inside me for the thoughts terrorizing you... I don't like to watch you suffer", Colby said honestly, looking into Sam's eyes with a genuine sincerity. 

It was dark in the room but they could see one another perfectly, that's all that mattered in their eyes.

"I don't like to see you suffer either..." Sam pouted and leaned closer to him, his breath fanning over Colby's red cheeks. "Then let's both do our best to make it through this. We can do this... I know we can if we have ach other... God that's so cheesy", Colby laughed lightly which made Sam join in.

"Cheesy is good, I like cheesy", Sam assured and smiled faintly, a silence following as the two resorted to listening to the breathing of the other. 

"I-I... Love your smile... I want you to smile more..."Colby rose his hand and caressed his fingers over Sam's cheek, feeling him leaning into his touch. 

"I like your smile too... If me smiling makes you happy, then I'll smile until my cheeks ache", Sam whispered with the warmest of smiles, almost feeling as though he was melting under Colby's nimble fingers. 

Colby smiled back, his thumb lightly brushing Sam's cheek before moving to his soft lips, the padding of his thumb tracing on the lower lip which dragged it down to expose the white set of teeth hidden behind it.

Colby brought himself up to sit, his legs folding under his weight so he was sitting in the same position as Sam on the bed. 

"You mean the world to me Sam", Colby pinched Sam's chin between his thumb and index finger, his eyes settled on his lips. "I feel the same way about you..."

There's forehead touch and their breaths mixed together, drinking in the silence around them aside from their steady breaths. After a few moments Colby wrapped his arms around Sam and pulled their bodies together. 

Sam nuzzled his head into his shoulder and breathed in his scent, puckering his lips and kissing his flesh.

"We'll stick together and get through this, deal?" Colby whispered and Sam smiled.

"Deal".

______________

Did you think they were gonna kiss? OH WELL.

Yes I know it's short, it's more of a filler to show where they are, the next will be longer!

~ShadowIsEm~


	12. Explanation

"You ready?" Colby breathed out as he set up the camera and made sure that Sam was in frame.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess", Sam gave a faint nod before lowering his eyes to his lap, nervously rubbing his palms on his aching thighs.

"Alright and... it's recording", Colby announced as he came around and took a seat beside his companion, looking to Sam with a smile of encouragement before returning his attention to the lens of the camera.

"Hey guys, it's Sam and Colby", he spoke in a soft voice, very opposite to the behavior he usually broadcasted.

"And I think- We thought it would be a good idea to... tell you or explain to you why we've just kinda... vanished off the face of the earth the past few weeks", he started and Sam finally looked up, knowing it was now his turn to speak.

"We'll give you the short of it, we were recording just another exploration video at this abandoned hospital in the middle of nowhere, nothing new", he suddenly felt his hands start to shake but he tried to ignore it.

"It was going fine until things started to go... haywire I guess? Unfortunately we will not be showing you the footage of that night... at least not yet because we have decided to hand it in to some professionals and we also... need to come to terms with what... we... saw..." Sam's voice was betraying him and soon almost his entire body was shaking, indicating the start of a possible panic attack.

Colby took charge and placed a hand over Sam's thigh in order to relax him.

"This was no... Joke or prank video. This was seriously... Messed up stuff we saw, it wound us in the hospital for a while, me still recovering from a concussion, a few broken ribs which are still healing and a punctured kidney. Sam here, nearly broken his legs in this place. This is not a joke. Like Sam said, we are not putting up the footage until further notice besides, we aren't even sure we will ever release the video to the public", Colby took Sam's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"We're... Trying to get better. As of now I don't know when we'll be uploading so for now, consider us on a break. This wasn't going to be a long video, just a video to tell you we are... not dead since we thought you deserved that much", Colby noticed that Sam wasn't improving and he was just shaking like a leaf.

"I hope you can understand and accept our decision, I'm sorry we can't tell you all of the details until later. But for now, this is going to be a small goodbye and hopefully we'll be back soon", he waved the camera off and went to put it off.

Sam covered his face with his palms and started sobbing, flinching when he felt Colby envelope his arms around him.

"They... They'll think we were joking? Won't they?" Sam whimpered as Colby held him close to his own body.

"It doesn't matter what they think Sam. What matters is that we know the truth".

"What if... They think we're crazy? What if the officials watch back on the footage and ring us into an actual mental hospital? C-Colby they could take me away from you! I-I don't kn-know what I'd do if they took you away from me!" Sam was in hysterics and Colby shook his head, taking Sam's shoulders and forcing him to look into his eyes.

"They won't Sam, I won't let them even if they tried".

"Y-You're just saying that!" Sam accuses and tried to wither from Colby's hands, inching further away on the couch.

"What? Why would you think that?" Colby shook his head.

"You think I'm crazy too don't you? All I do is cry and scream and cling to you. You must get so tired of me taking away your sleep", Sam shook his head wildly as these thoughts swarmed his mind, eating away at him like a corrosive virus.

"Sam that is not true".

"You're lying! You're going to leave me! You're going to let them take me away so you can be on your own again! Without a pest like me burdening you and forcing you to take care of me! You're going to forget me and-"

"Stop it Sam! That's not true! I care about you Sam! I would never abandon you!" Colby snapped at him sternly but Sam was having none of it, once he started these thoughts, the more they festered and his anxiety grew.

"It is! You say that now but what about in an hour? Or in a day? You could suddenly realize how much having me around is causing an obstacle for you. Stopping you from wanting to be near me! You don't know what you'll do in the future!"

"Sam please! You're my best friend! I love you so much and I will continue to love you until the end of time! We've stuck together through everything! This is not going to change that whatsoever! You'll get better! I'll make sure you do!" Colby tried to pull him into a hug but this caused Sam to scream out.

"Liar! Liar!"

"I am not lying to you!" Colby snapped and Sam shoved him off, climbing to his feet and trying to leave Colby's room but he seemed to have forgotten the pitiful state of his legs because his knees quickly buckled inwards and he collapsed on the floor in a heap.

This further upset him.

"Useless! Pathetic! I can't even fucking walk on my own! I'm such a pathetic person! So dependent so stupid! If it weren't for my stupidity at that place, we'd be fine! I wouldn't be so obsessed with being near you and you wouldn't have to deal with how useless I have become!" He wailed as he punched the floor in anguish.

"Sam-"

"I might as well kill myself and get it done with!"

"Hey! Sam shut the fuck up and don't you dare say that! Don't you dare! I worry for you so much and you know how heartbroken I would be if I lost you!? You selfish child! I care about you and no matter how much you claim I do not, will not change that I care for you! If you kill yourself I swear to god Sam I will follow shortly after", Colby kneeled beside him and Sam laughed coldly.

"You say that but-"

He was cut off when Colby's hands roughly grabbed his face and forced him forward so that their lips met in the middle.

Sam blinked through the tears, still digesting what exactly was happening.

Colby pulled away and opened his eyes to meet Sam's shocked ones.

"I will never stop caring".

________


	13. Why

Why indeed. Why would Colby do that?

Sam couldn't quite understand. But Sam's reaction certainly was not what Colby was expecting.

Soon after Colby had kissed him, Sam screamed and threw objects at Colby, demanding that he leave the room. So here Colby was, with his heart stinging in his chest as he sat with his knees to his chest outside his own room.

He tried to talk to Sam but he never got a response. It made him really scared that perhaps Sam might hurt himself but every now and then Sam would make a sound, whether it was a frustrated grunt or a sniffle, it meant he was still alive at least.

Was what Colby did really that bad? He was sure it was going to happen eventually, but perhaps his timing was just bad. Sam might be thinking ridiculous things. Like maybe Colby did that to shut him up, or because he couldn't help lying so a kiss would just cover everything up. The thought of Sam actually considering that made Colby feel a great number of things.

Regret. Depression. Worry. Anger.

No good emotions were flashing through Colby's mind aside from the momentary feelings of relief when he heard Sam make a sound to show he was alive. 

"Sam?" Colby tried again, knocking his knuckles on the door lightly.

"Are you okay... No, bad question... I'm sorry..." Colby shook his head at his own ignorance of his dumb questioning. "I uh... Can you please just talk to me? I'll listen to you... I won't do anything else just... Please answer me..." Colby's voice grew smaller as the doubt ate at him.

How long would Sam camp in his bedroom? Well, all Colby knew was he was going to stay at the door and wait until Sam came out.

"Please Sam... Please... I'm sorry..."

"...Why?"

Colby's heart jolted with surprise and joy at the sound of Sam's rough voice, he seemed to be right on the other side of the door, it was also clear he had been crying which unfortunately did not surprise Colby. 

"Why what?"

"Why... Are you sorry? Did... You regret it?"

"It made you upset... I don't want to upset you, it was an error of judgement... I shouldn't have done that..." Colby wasn't sure if these were the words Sam wanted to hear, he wasn't giving him anything to go off on.

"An... Error of judgement? So you realised that..."

"Sam, it wasn't to shut you up, or because I had nothing more to say. It was to show you that I care, but clearly I chose the worst time to do it... I'm sorry for that and I regret making you cry because I chose the wrong time", Colby wanted to eliminate any false thoughts Sam could possibly have at this point.

Sam was silent and Colby sighed, thinking that was the end of that conversation but found himself proven otherwise as the door clicked and started to open, Colby falling to the ground as his back support on the door fell away and he was half in his room, looking up into Sam's surprised, red eyes.

"Oh you were just... Sitting there", Sam's expression dulled as he rested on his knees, peering down at Colby's face. 

"I was waiting for you... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-", Sam leaned down and closed his lips over Colby's performing in an upside down kiss that genuinely took Colby completely off guard.

The kiss was still, neither of them moved their lips and just held it there for a few moments. Soon Sam pulled away and he couldn't hold back the tears any longer as they fell from his face and landed on Colby's cheeks. 

Colby's eyes softened and he quickly sat up, turning his body to wrap him arms around Sam and draw him close to his chest, allowing Sam to sob against his chest. Colby found himself struggling to contain his own tears, silently escaping the rim of his eyelids and rolling down his face. 

"C-Colby..." Sam whimpered and Colby let out a broken sob as he hugged him tighter, shutting his eyes and pressing his lips against the top of Sam's head. 

It was so all over the place. Their emotions, their thoughts even the control of their bodies was so far unknown to them. But when they were together they felt... So perfectly at ease. Just crying against one another was so much comfort that their souls needed. The smell, the feel the sound of each other was all they needed.

It was something no medication could replicate to help them.

"Colby... I love you... So much", Sam cried out, now full out sobbing like a baby as he wrapped his arms tightly around Colby's frame, wishing they could just be closer. Even though there was no humanly way possible they could be closer than now, excluding the fact they had clothes on, that they could be any closer physically. 

Hearing Sam say this was so... Strange. It wasn't like he hasn't heard this before. They've said it to each other more than once and will probably continue to say it in the future to come, but this time it felt different. Somehow those words were different. 

"I love you too", he reciprocated and the frail blond let out a broken laugh as he retracted and leaned his head up, closing his lips over Colby's again, taking him by slight surprise but he was able to regain himself speedily and kiss back with just as much expressive passion.

It was so perfect... So pure. If only that moment could last forever.

_____________

"How have you two been feeling then?" Rena asked when she saw the two boys again, coming for their first therapy session. "Could be better but much more... Calm than we were when you last saw us", Sam gave a happy smile as he held his weight on the crutches, Colby nodding in agreement beside him.

"You two look much happier than last time, I almost didn't recognise you", she pinched Sam's cheek and nudged Colby playfully, the two laughing shyly as she treated them like they were her children. they didn't mind her doing it, they actually felt really at ease by how she treated them. 

Like there wasn't anything wrong.

"Can I take it that you two are closer than you were before?" Her question was subtle and cautious, almost hoping that they wouldn't take it in the wrong way but pleasantly surprised when the two boys blushed and looked away from each other.

"That's all the reassurance I need", she teased and looked towards the therapists office which had a young woman waving to show she was ready to see them. "Oh well, Dr. Kingsly is ready to see you two! It was great seeing some friendly faces! I'm happy for you!" She gave them small hugs and excused herself as they made their way to the office.

They very much would have preferred to continue talking to Rena, their comfortable atmosphere faded away as they entered the office. 

It looked like a typical therapy room, a warm mahogany colour spread throughout the room, a large wall, more like shelf, completely filled with books that looked very scientific and wordy. They took a seat on the sofa and sat close to each other, looking over at the woman neatly putting her books and folders together before she took a seat in front of the couch Sam and Colby were on.

She didn't look very approachable to the two. She wore the kind of glasses a second grade teacher would, her skin was a caramel shade and her eyes were a deep olive green colour, she kind of had eyes like a cat, they were small and sharp, like she could see straight through you without having you say anything. She had sharp cheekbones and thin lips.

She smiled. She surprisingly had a very warm smile and it made the two feel a little less intimidated. 

"Sam and Colby right?" She had a soft voice and the two nodded slowly to answer her.

"Which is which?" She gave a sheepish expression and the two smiled back faintly.

"I'm Colby, this is Sam", Colby wrapped an arm around Sam who looked up at him with a slightly nervous smile before the two looked back her. She gave a small nodded and jotted something on her clipboard, the two wondering what on earth she could possibly have gotten already.

"Hello you two, my name is Dr Jane Kingsly, and I hope we manage to help you two get back on your feet."

____________


	14. Therapy

'Therapy' for Sam and Colby was going nowhere. The two spent most of the time twiddling their thumbs and giving small grunts to respond to her questions. Sam clung to Colby's arm, his head rested on his shoulder as he listened to Dr Kingsly speak and ask.

Her eyes were fully trained on Sam, she would ask him a few questions but Colby answered them the majority of the time.

"You two are very close", She commented as Sam nuzzled his head into the side of Colby's neck and whispered a silent 'when can we go' that only Colby could hear.

"I assumed that was obvious from the moment we came in", Colby responded, looking down at Sam who leaned closer and pressed his forehead to Colby's, their noses brushing. "It was, but now I'm asking for the specifications", she interlaced her fingers and leaned forward slightly.

"How long have you two been a couple?"

"Hmm, not long enough", Sam surprisingly responded, suddenly filled with the desire to receive Colby's attention like a needy puppy. "We've known each other since school but we've only been romantically involved for a week", Colby turned his head away from Sam to look at Jane.

"Why'd you wait so long?"

"We didn't 'wait' we just didn't think about it until the incident", Colby stated and Jane's eyes narrowed in curiosity. "Only until then huh?"

"Is that a problem?" Sam spoke up, his eyes finally moving back to the woman who stared right back curiously. "Of course not, it just strikes me as strange I suppose... Have you two always had homosexual tendencies?"

"No, we've never really been interested in the same sex... Besides I had a girlfriend before..." Sam's grab on Colby's arm tightened and his teeth grit together harshly. "Easy", Colby leaned over and nuzzled his head into the side of Sam's head.

"So after what happened you suddenly realised you wanted Colby so you left your girlfriend?"

"No... She..." Sam's face was reddening in frustration at just the mere thought of what happened with Katrina. "That's not what happened? What the fuck are you getting at?" Sm snarled and Colby wrapped an arm around him, whispering in his ear to tell him to calm down before he does something he may regret.

"Do you honestly want to hear my opinion?"

"Enlighten me, Doctor", Sam snickered sarcastically.

"You two were straight and went through this whole traumatic process now suddenly you're in love? Correct?"

Sam glared, not liking how she was phrasing it at all, even Colby narrowed his eyes at he in irritation. She sounded so cynical and spoke like it was some boring film. This was their life, how dare she treat it so lightly?

"It seems that because of this whole ordeal, the fact that you two were there together, you've developed some kind of post traumatic dependence on each other than you mask to be love", she explained and Sam's eyes widen in shock.

He felt so insulted.

"Are you saying that our love for each other is actually some kind of obsession?!"

"You sound like a child Sam, yes that's a very dramatic way of it. But I think that you two have created a need for each other so desperate you can't operate without being together", it kind of made sense but in the eyes of these young adults, they didn't like how she explained it at all. 

She made it sound like they were lingering on something that wasn't real. It was real, of course it was real.

"So, what would you suggest?"

"A temporary separation", she said blankly like it was obvious, the two looking at each other before looking back at her. The two almost didn't understand the words that left her mouth, unable to comprehend what 'separation' meant in that moment because the idea of them not being together for even a short amount of time was beyond their imaginations.

"Temporary... Sep-"

"No!" Sam exclaimed.

"It's just a suggestion", she defended and the two glared at her. "You two are far too dependent on one another and if it continues as it currently has, then at some point you're going to find yourselves in very compromising situations".

"You don't know shit about us!" Sam snapped, standing up to glare down at her, ignoring the dull pain that struck through him. "You don't know what we went through, how we feel and why we do! You think you can just make these claims because of your degree? Every single person and scenario is different!"

"I acknowledge that Mr Golbach, now could you please-"

"I want to leave, Colby let's leave now", Sam didn't even wait for a response before he collected his crutches and carried himself out the room, Colby having no choice but to follow. 

Colby understood what she was saying to a degree. He knew very well that they were far too dependent on each other, but it made sense why that would be the case, it wasn't like they asked to be like this. This session seemed to only succeed in pissing Sam off, which was something that Colby really didn't want.

He was only hoping that what she said wouldn't linger in Sam's mind, making him doubt their relationship again. Sam's conscience was a lot more fragile than what it used to be, it was almost petrifying. 

Sam was always the one willing to dive headfirst into risky situations and had a high tolerance but now...

______

"Calm down Sam", Colby uttered to his partner, watching as he threw a ball at the wall and caught it when it bounced back, his throws becoming harsher and stronger.

Sam glanced at him but said nothing, continuing to toss the ball at the wall. "Sam", Colby sat next to him on the floor and caught the ball when it came back. "Hey", he clutched Sam's chin and turned his head so they faced each other.

"Don't think about what she said".

"We don't have to go back there do we?" Sam grumbled, twiddling his thumbs. "No baby", Colby leaned closer to him, pressing his forehead against Sam's. "We don't have to separate either, okay?"

"Okay", Sam gave a relieved smile and leaned closer reluctantly.

Colby understood Sam's intention and leaned in as well, closing the gap between their mouths to initiate a soft and intimate kiss. The kiss might've progressed if it weren't for the knock at the door, the two breaking apart.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?" Elton's voice called and Sam confirmed that he could, the older male opening the door and looking in, his recording equipment in his hands. Colby could help the guilty yet nervous expression on Elton's face. Elton very rarely managed to convey emotions like regret or guilt so this made him very concerned.

"Heath, Amanda and I are uh going to record somewhere..."

"Okay?" Sam frowned, wondering he relevance.

"Where?" Colby eyed Elton down.

"We're going back to the hospital that-"

"You're not serious", Colby breathed while his eyes widened in horror. "We just wanna see if the place is still there and what happens if we go in", Elton defended. "Elton, I know you're some kind of weird sadist masochist but that is seriously so crazy", Colby snapped sternly, narrowing his eyes at Elton.

"Listen, nothing bad is gonna happen-"

"-Never heard that one before" Colby cut him off.

"Colby it's for-"

"I swear to god if you say 'it's for YouTube' Elton I swear to god".

"Just-"

"Can I come?" Sam interrupted and the two immediately stopped talking, looking at Sam. 

"What?"

"I want to come along", he said firmly. "Let me go with you".

_______________


	15. Attacked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're back baby!

"No", Colby said sternly and Sam's eyes flickered between the two. 

"Wait are you serious right now?" Elton asked, fiddling the camera back and forth in his hands.

"Hundred percent", Sam nodded firmly.

"Did I fucking stutter? No Sam, you can't go", Colby gave Sam a serious expression, his eyes narrowing at his significant other. 

"I wasn't asking you Colby", Sam stated calmly and this evoked a shocked reaction from both males. It's been a while since Sam has acted that way when it came to Colby, it was like a switch was activated in his mind.

"Elton, would it be okay if you let me tag along? I don't even have to go inside, I just-"

"Sam".

"Colby", Sam retaliated, giving the male a harsh stare. "I want to go back, for some reason, I feel like it'll be better if I can face the place at least once. You don't have to go with Colby, maybe me going with them and you staying here would be good?"

Elton and Colby looked at each other, they both seemed to be having the exact same thoughts. What the fuck was Sam talking about? After all that talk, all the tears shed, all the talks they've had, now Sam is acting like he didn't want Colby near him, was it wrong for Colby to feel slightly hurt by Sam's actions?

"Good? What are you on about? Are you pranking us right now?" Colby asked. "Or is this a prank on me?"

"No", Sam shrugged. "Separation right?" He added and Colby shook his head, kneeling in front of Sam to cup his cheeks and lean closer. 

"Regardless of whether what she said was true or not, this is a drastic step to take Sam, I don't think-"

"Colby", Sam said firmly as he placed his hands over Colby's, his gaze softening slightly as he offered and apologetic smile to his lover. "Let me do this".

"Sam I don't think that's a great idea", Elton intervened, not wanting them to get into a full fledged fight right now. 

"Guys, I'm not a fucking baby, I can handle just sitting in the car and waiting", Sam defended, now feeling outright fed up with their intent to keep him locked up, shielded like a child. He wanted to face his fears, was that wrong of him? He somewhat appreciated their concerns but if there's even the slightest possibility that he could be 'cured' for lack of a better term, he was going to take the chance head on.

Colby looked at the ground and then at Elton. "If he's going, so am I, there's no way in hell he's going there without me", Colby finally said and Elton rose his eyebrows at them. 

"Uh... Oh kay?" Elton did not expect this to happen at all. He wondered whether telling them in the first place was a bad option or not. He just hoped nothing chaotic would come out of this endeavor, that was the last thing they all needed right now.

__________

Their eyes stared from the car, watching their friends make their way into the damned place. Luckily it wasn't late all so the sun was still high in the sky which made the two feel slightly more at ease. Sam mentally battled with himself over how idiotic they were to do that video at night. Sure, they've done multiple other exploration videos in other places during the night that they came out safely, but that place was so sketchy that it was absurd to challenge, even for them.

"Place doesn't look all that scary when there's light..." Colby spoke up and Sam looked to him with a tired expression. 

"That's what makes this place worse", he added and Colby nodded in agreement.

"Why would you want to come back here?" Colby asked, disbelief lacing his tone. 

Sam stared at him and sighed. He honestly wasn't sure. When Elton mentioned that he was coming here, Sam immediately perked up in wanting to come back here. It was like he was trying to prove something that wasn't necessary. He supposed he wanted to prove to himself that this place wouldn't beat him. Yeah. That's it. He nodded subconsciously to himself.

"Sam?"

"I uh... I guess I just wanted to show that I could face it..." He looked out the window at the place, a burning growing within his chest that recognised to be anxiety. What if... Something were to go wrong? Why hadn't he thought that far? Sure he came to face his fear but now that he was here, he was starting to regret it. He and Colby were defenseless in this car, if something were to happen...

He took a second before facing Colby again, their eyes meeting. "You okay?" Colby asked gently and Sam blinked before he leaned closer and placed his lips against Colby's. 

Colby was a bit surprised by Sam's actions but he didn't refuse to return the kiss, leaning into his partner eagerly, their hands finding each other and intertwining fingers. 

Sam needed a distraction from his paranoia. It wasn't wrong of him to use Colby as a distraction right now, the brunette was probably hyper aware of how stressful this was for Sam, who had no doubt that Colby may be feeling just as anxious. He and Colby were still exploring this relationship, obviously having only been in relationships with women until this point.

The kiss started out slow, the two males familiarizing their tastes as fingers hesitantly touched hips and hands. Sam slowly started to rotate his body without breaking the kiss, his knees resting on the seat as he shuffled in the backseat. He moved to straddle Colby's lap, the two laughing against one another's mouths as they tried to change positions while still remaining in their kiss. 

Though the space was cramped, Sam managed to seat himself in Colby's lap with his hands massaging into his significant other's shoulder blades. As the kiss stretched out and breathing became more erratic, the two needily pawed at the other's clothing, not liking the fabric that withheld them from their skin making contact. 

It might've progressed into something more had their not been a sudden bang against the side of the car, the two crying out in shock with Sam slamming the top of his head into the ceiling of the vehicle. Colby rose his hands to rub at Sam's forehead as he asked him whether he was okay or not before looking to where the noise had come from.

Of course, these two weren't going to brush that off like 'maybe it was the wind' or an animal, because there was nothing there when they checked. If this were like before, they would've assumed it were Elton or the others screwing with them. A rather cruel joke to play, too cruel even for Elton. 

"Colby", Sam leaned to the side and crawled off his partners lap, his eyes trained in the direction in which the noise had come from while his hands idly rubbed at the bump forming atop his head.

Another bang sounded, this time above on the roof of the car which caused Sam to start screaming in panic, begging and pleading for Colby to make it stop and for them to leave. They couldn't leave however, not without their friends and neither of them were willing to leave the car to go and call them back. 

"Hey, hey, Sam, shhhh look at me baby", Colby tried to push his own fear aside as he took Sam's face in his hands and wiped the tears that were already falling with the padding of his thumbs. To see Sam in such a state again tore Colby apart, hating himself for not pushing harder for he and Sam to stay home, far away from this damned place.

Sam did as Colby instructed, trying to calm his breathing as he placed his hands over Colby's and gripped at his fingers. Colby told Sam to breathe slowly and rhythmically, demonstrating the slow intake of breath through his nostrils and out his mouth. Sam repeated the process and closed his eyes, his exhales sounding shaky but he slowly began to calm down. 

A thump sounded outside the car again, right behind Sam by the door, the blonde's eyes shooting wide open and whipping his head around to look but Colby stopped him and brought his partners face into his chest. "Don't look", Colby sternly commanded and Sam nuzzled his face into  his chest and whimpered.

Colby couldn't see who or what was outside but he did notice that the sun was already settling behind the far landscape, causing him to hiss under his breath.  _Dammit, they promised they'd be back before it got dark._

He looked back at the building and paused. "Sam... I may have to go and get them can you-" 

"No! No! No!" Sam repeated the word 'no' in shrill screams, pulling away from Colby's chest and grabbing him by the shoulders as he shook his roughly. Not again. They couldn't do this again, he refused to stay here and watch Colby run off into that cursed place by himself. He'd worry himself insane.

"Okay, okay I won't, I promise I won't leave you", he pulled Sam against him again and kissed the top of his head as he allowed the boy to shake and sob against his chest desperately. It was a foolish suggestion, how could he even dream of asking Sam whether he shoulder leave him here alone or not?

A thud sounded by the window behind Sam, both of them flinching violently, Sam attempting to look but Colby stopped him from doing so as his wide eyes met the gaze... Or what he assumed to be the gaze of a young girl, looking like she just crawled her way out of  _The Ring_  film. She smacked her palm continuously against different gaps on the window, a red hand print leaving its mark each time.

Colby couldn't help the fact that his own panic was raging through him, wanting nothing more than to cower and scream like Sam. He couldn't be weak, but he was struggling to remain strong even for Sam's sake. He whimpered out as he dug his face into Sam's head and wept, whispering desperately for it to stop.

 _Crash._  

They both screamed from the top of their lungs as all the windows shattered and fine shards of glass showered over their bodies, hands reaching in from outside the vehicle and pulling violently at their clothing. They screamed and clawed at each other as they tried to stay together, shutting their eyes and begging for it to stop.

All too suddenly, like a click of fingers it all stopped and they opened their eyes, the doors opening and their friends climbing in casually like nothing happened. 

"That was anticlimactic- Creepy but anticlimactic", Elton sat in the drivers seat and fastened his seat belt while Amanda climbed into the passenger side and Heath opened the back door. The windows were completely as they were just moments before and the sun still shined through the glass into the car.

"Woah, what happened to you two?" 

___________


	16. Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Colby can’t handle trying to help Sam on his own...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been binging their videos lately because I’ve missed out on so much and the most recent Queen Mary video they made a while ago with Kian and JC had me inspired to do this. Sorry for taking so long though!

"Sam's not with you today?" Jane Kingsly asked as Colby settled down on the adjacent sofa, his hands clasped together as he stared at the ground. Ever since what happened... All the progress they had made completely shattered then and there. Sam was getting worse and worse and it naturally had an affect on Colby, his best friend and lover.

He couldn’t handle just sitting there and watching the person he cares so deeply for tear himself apart. Colby wasn’t going any better mentally. The trauma was only an addition to his mentality but the thing that was mainly causing suffering to him was watching Sam turn into what he was. A skeptical, paranoid and anxious mess. The things and the trauma that he had before that experience in the car, had become ten times worse. It was almost impossible for Colby to leave the house without Sam sticking to him.

Sam had no idea that Colby was seeing Jane right now. In fact, he had no idea Colby had left yet because he was a sleep when Colby slipped out of the house. Colby had to talk about it to someone that wasn’t delusional. He had to talk to a professional, though Jane was not someone he was close enough to trust heartily, she was his best shot right now.

Maybe he and Sam were going insane with trauma, which would not be a surprise when taking into consideration all they had been through but- Colby wanted to know what he could do. He couldn’t stand it. Quivering and trembling in fear while also trying to reassure his even more horrified boyfriend. He wanted to be strong for Sam, he wanted to help. But he couldn’t do it alone.

“No”, Colby closed his eyes as his leg bounced up and down, the clear discomfort of not being near Sam already showing in his features and body language. In all these months, he and Sam were absolutely inseparable. They stuck together like they felt they’d die without the other at their side, like if they left for even a second and came back, the other would be gone. Sam was more severe in this regard than Colby was but that didn’t make it any easier. “Sam was asleep when I left. He’s been taking sleeping medication lately because he’s had trouble sleeping, he doesn’t know I’m here and I don’t think he knows I’ve left yet”, he glanced at his phone before looking back at her.

He knew the moment Sam woke up and recognized Colby’s absence he’d do three things in order. Start calling out to Colby. Start sobbing when he realised he wasn’t in the house. Then he’d call Colby’s phone and probably beg him to come back. It wouldn’t even matter to Sam about where Colby left to, it would’ve been the fact that Colby wasn’t there that would make him lose his shit.

“Why doesn’t he know you’ve come to see me?” Jane asked as she organized some documents and stood up from her desk to sit in the plush chair near the sofa Colby sat on, crossing one leg over the other as she gazed at him. 

“Multiple reasons. Some of which I’m sure you’d figure out without me having to say”, Colby looked up into her eyes for only a moment before he looked back down at the floor. That was another issue he had developed. He couldn’t look most people in the eye anymore. He could only look at Sam, and in his gaze he could just barely recognize the person he used to be. The person Sam was and the person Colby was before- it all went to hell. Colby wanted to revive those kids they were, maybe not the idiocy those kids had, but he wanted bring the light back into his loved ones eyes.

For some reason, Colby felt that if he could restore Sam back to the way he was, Colby would be corrected likewise. All he cares about was Sam’s well-being. He hated watching him suffer. It was painful for him to watch, knowing he couldn’t do anything to dull the pain he was going through. Colby has dismissed his own emotions to care for Sam’s. Though he knew that wasn’t the healthy option at all, he couldn’t help it. He loved Sam to death.

To death. 

“Possibly”, she clicked her pen. “But not all of them”. 

“You remember the last time we came here? He can’t talk about his feelings to people he doesn’t know. Fuck, he can barely talk about his feelings to our close friends...” 

“But he can confide in you?”

“Yeah...” Colby oddly enough felt ashamed of saying that, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault that things had turned out the way they had. He didn’t want to be the only person for Sam to rely on. He wasn’t stable enough for it but he would be that person for as long as Sam needed him to be that person. 

“What brought you here then? You didn’t seem so keen on opening up that day likewise”, she cocked her eyebrows at him and Colby looked up at her again, but this time he held the stare for longer.

“Don’t get me wrong... I don’t take pleasure in coming here to vent to you. Professional or not you’re a stranger but... Still a professional and I... I don’t know what to do anymore”, he broke the eye contact between them to duck his head and ball his hair in his palms. He had so few people he could talk to. He couldn’t talk to Sam completely because he felt if he told Sam how suffocated he felt- That would no doubt only make Sam panic. He didn’t want to leave Sam, that was nonnegotiable. No matter how unhealthy their relationship was, he still loved him. He could recall that he had loved him even before the occurrences that caused all this shit in the first place. He would be fine with spending less time with him... in slow processes so they could become less overly dependent on one another, but he knew- he knew Sam couldn’t handle that disconnection just yet.

“I understand”, Jane sighed before she took a moment. “I want you to tell me what happened Colby. This recent experience you had that you told me on your email. The one that destroyed all your progress. Tell me what happened”, she said, though it was blunt and straight to the point, Colby preferred it that way. He didn’t want to beat around the bush with vague questions and sugarcoating, it seemed she understood that just as well.

Colby tried to describe the experience as best he could and he realized... the more he told her, the more crazy he started to sound, but Jane never gave him a look of condescending or judgement that made him feel stupid, she just nodded and jotted a few things on her clipboard. He imagined she was writing something like ‘batshit crazy’ but in more intelligent speech.

By the end of his rant she remained silent, tapping her pen on her clipboard as she stared at the words she had written. Colby wanted for her to tell him it was based on delusion or additional trauma, but she didn’t say any of that. “Did Sam experience the same things you had that day?”

Colby blinked and swallowed dryly. “Yes”. 

That made her frown deeply as she stopped tapping her pen on the board. “If it had just been you to have seen these things, I might’ve suspected you have some sort of schizophrenia or psychosis but since Sam experienced the same sights... Colby you must know how difficult it is to understand when it’s just you here telling me all these things...”

“I know but... Sam is...”

“Disillusioned?”

“Paranoid and anxious”, Colby said slowly. Sam wouldn’t want to come back here. One part of Colby didn’t want to bring Sam here again because she may suggest the same thing... To separate them, even though Colby knew that would be best for them and it wasn’t like it would be a permanent thing. Though... Colby didn’t feel ready for that.

“Listen-“ Colby interrupted her.

“The only reason I came here is because I’m losing it”, Colby said sharply, not making a very strong eye contact to show how serious he had become about this discussion. “He had because weak and vulnerable. He’s fragile and jittery and I don’t- what can I do to help him if I myself feel just as destroyed as he is? I may not seem it on the outside but I’m cracking here”, Colby allowed a few tears to surface his eyes as he smiled cynically at her. He found no amusement in the situation but he still smiled.

“I can sense it Colby”. 

“Good then you should know how fucking hard I am trying to be the strong one for him. He’s slipping away and I feel like he’s losing who he was. We’ve been through fucking hell but- I want to be like one of those documentaries where people make those extraordinary recoveries from close to destruction to being at least slightly normal. I know I can’t take away the trauma but I want him to feel... Safe in his own skin”.

“I understand that Colby, but you must realize this. You are not going to fix him on your own”, Colby was becoming impatient. 

“You think I don’t fucking know that? Why the fuck do you think I came here? I came here to ask for help, not for you to tell me shit I already know! I’m telling you I can’t do it for much longer by myself. It breaks me every time I see him cry, shake or wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares. I can’t- I love him so much”, Colby was now shaking. He couldn’t tell whether it was his despair for his partner, his anxiety or frustration that was making him cry.

“There’s only so much I can do”, Jane stared as she leaned forward in his seat, giving him a look of pity which he absolutely hated. He hated people pitying him or Sam. Your fucking sympathy is not going to fix us you dolt. “Colby- I need you to try and bring Sam here again. By himself”, Colby laughed at that.

There was no way in hell Sam would cooperate with being in a room alone with her. Sam could barely tolerate breathing unless Colby was right beside him. It was like-

Before Colby could even think about the ridiculousness of her suggestion, his phone rang and as he suspected... It was Sam. He picked it up and brought it to his ear, he expected to hear sobbing, his lover whimpering about how scared he was and how he needed Colby there immediately.

The line was silent though. “Sam?” Colby said as he glanced at Jane who had her fingers interlaced as she watched him. “Sam?” Colby said again before he heard a deep exhale and a chuckle. 

It was definitely Sam, but it was almost hard to imagine it really being him because he sounded so... Calm.

“Colby”, Sam’s voice said his name.

“Are you okay?”

“I don’t know where you are”, Sam’s voice said, a loud thud echoing in the background. “But I hope you come home soon. We miss you”.

____

 


End file.
